tremulus – Lovecraft RPG based on Apocalypse World, Fate and Fiasco

tremulus is an interesting looking RPG from Sean Preston and Reality Blurs that takes elements of some of the most successful storytelling games of the last few years (Apocalypse World, Fate, and Fiasco are given as influences) and lets you get together with your friends and create terrifying mind bending stories in the vein of H.P. Lovecraft’sCthulhu mythos. tremulus uses plain six-sided dice and, when you think about it, if there was ever a type of game that is ripe for a narrative RPG, it’s the Lovecraftian horror genre, which is not a game that translates all that well into the traditional RPG paradigm in my opinion. A lot of the things that other RPGs keep track of just really don’t matter in that type of personal, slowly building horror story. The core system of the tremulus RPG is based on Apocalypse World, and uses playbooks in a manner that is consistent with my understanding of Apocalypse World‘s playbooks (I have some experience with Dungeon World, but not Apocalypse World, so forgive me if that isn’t accurate). The designer explains that tremulus works very well for small groups and the narrator in tremulus never makes rolls, only asking the players to roll to determine if their move is a success, partial success, or failure. tremulus comes with 11 playbooks and a default setting called Ebon Eaves. tremulus has four ‘difficulty settings’ (my words, not theirs) that determine how much your characters can do to stop their loss of sanity. tremulus looks like an extremely promising RPG with a great premise: the promise of a well made, interesting narrative Lovecraft RPG. There’s a bunch of information over on the Kickstarter page, where a PDF copy of tremulus costs $10, so you should go check that as well.

What are your favorite games for Lovecraftian horror? Or do you enjoy the genre at all? What do you think has made the Cthulhu mythos resonate with so many people over the last 10 years or so, as it has worked its way into mainstream consciousness? Let’s discuss it in the comments! If you’re done checking out tremulus, why don’t you check out one of the related links below or go to a random page on Futile Position?

About Michael

Michael is an enthusiast about a lot of things, including indie games, roleplaying games, board games, and comic books that wanted to help create a place where he could bring things to the attention of those with similar interests. Futile Position is a true labor of labor, which he hopes continues to grow through the support of the great readers who have come upon this page.